Vanessa: Hi, I'm
Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com. What did you say? Let's talk about it.
Oh, hey. I was just listening to one of my favorite playlists. It always puts me in a
good mood, because the songs are so catchy. What about you? What's your favorite music?
Oh, if I asked you this question, would you freeze and say, ah, ah, ah, and your heart
starts beating really fast? Well, don't worry. Today, I'm going to help you speak
in English about music. You're going to learn the most common questions, answers and phrases about
music. Plus at the end of this lesson, you'll have a chance to speak with me, and use everything that
you've learned in this lesson. Like always, I have created a free PDF worksheet for you to
download, using all of today's vocabulary, sample sentences, sample conversations,
and at the end of the PDF worksheet, you can answer Vanessa's challenge question. So that
you never forget what you have learned today. You can download that free PDF worksheet with
the link in the description. Just click on it. You could print it out, put it under your pillow,
sleep on it at night and dream about English, or while you're listening to some music.
All right. Let's get started with some of the most common questions and answers that we use
when talking about music. Question number one is, whatcha listening to? What are you listening to?
This is a reduction of the full question, what are you listening to? But oftentimes you becomes cha
with a question, so we can say whatcha listening, we're cutting off that final G, to what are you
listening to? You might ask this if someone pulls up in their car and you hear some music,
so you could say, Hey, I heard you listening to some music in your car. Whatcha listening to?
They'll let you know what they were listening to. If you're listening to some music,
but you don't know who sings it, a common question is, "Who's this? I like this song." Who's this,
of course, who is this could be used in a lot of different contexts. But here, when we're
talking about music, you're asking who is the singer? I like this song. I want to listen to
it again. Who's this? If you want to get to know someone better, you might ask, what type of music
do you like? What type of music do you like? We're going to talk about all of the different
genres or types of music a little bit later, but a little sneak preview. You might say,
what type of music do you like? I really just like pop music. Whatever is on the top
of the charts these days, that's what I like. What type of music do you like? If you've ever
listened to Spotify, you've probably listened to a playlist. This is a group of songs that
have something in common. Maybe it's just songs that you like, or it might be songs that have
a common theme or similar to a type of singer that you like. So, you could ask, did you make
this playlist? Did you make this playlist? For my husband, he loves to make playlists himself.
So, all of the playlists that we listen to in our house are specific to different activities.
Maybe they're for the evening. Maybe they're for feeling energized. All of these different things
can be included in a playlist. Do you like to make playlists? For me, I never listen to the radio,
but if you listen to the radio, you could say, what station is this? What station is this?
When you turn the dial or change the radio station, this is kind of like channels.
We call it a station. So, if you like some music and you're listening to it, "Oh, I like this.
What station is this?" Maybe you can listen to it on your own. "Have you ever seen them
live?" Who do you think them is here in this situation? Well, if we were talking about a group
that you like, and I asked you, have you ever seen them live, this means, have you ever been
to their concert? You could say, "Have you ever been to their concert?" But it's more common to
say, "Have you ever seen them live?" That means in-person, not in a video, but in- person. Oh,
I saw them live and it was amazing. Have you heard the new song? Have you heard the new Taylor
Swift song? It's great. I'm not a huge Taylor Swift fan, but I know she's a popular artist.
So, let's use her in this question. "Have you heard the new Taylor swift song?
I think it's fantastic." Or you could insert any singer or group that you like, and you're talking
about their new song that has just been released. Let's imagine that you're talking with someone,
and you ask what type of music do you like, and it turns out that they like the same music as you.
You could say, "Oh, I like folk music too. Do you have any recommendations?" People love
sharing song and group music recommendations. So, this is a great question to ask, "Oh,
I like that kind of music too. Do you have any recommendations?" I'm sure that they'll give you
plenty of ideas. Now, let's talk about some common phrases that we use to talk
about music, especially music that we like. But first let's talk about some genres of music.
These are different types of music. Take a look at this. You might say, "I like pop music,
folk music, rock music, country music, alternative music, classical music, jazz music, guitar music."
There are so many different types of genres, but these are probably the most common. If I asked
you what type of music you like, and you have trouble describing what you like, well, maybe this
sentence is a good fit for you. You can describe how the music makes you feel. You could say,
"I like music that's energizing, and makes me feel good, like rock music." Cool. You're
talking about that feeling inside of you that you get, when you're listening to the music.
Some common descriptions of music that you could say are, "I like music that's soulful. I like
music that's got a good beat. I like music that's easy to dance to. I like music that's relaxing."
These are all wonderful terms that you can use to talk about music, and what if you hear some music
that you love? What can you say? Let me give you a bunch of expressions that you can use.
You might say, "Oh, this is a great song. Turn it up." Turn it up means make it louder. "Turn up the
volume. I love it. Turn it up." Or you might say, "Oh, I love this song. This is my jam." This is a
little bit older, an older type of expression, but I use this. You are welcome to use this.
It just means, I like, oh, this is my jam. I love this. Or you could say, "I love this
song. It's so catchy." It's so catchy. That means that you can't stop thinking about it.
Just like this next expression. This song always gets stuck in my head. This could be good or bad.
If it's a song you like, well, cool, it's stuck in your head. You're just humming
and singing it all day. You're saying a couple lines of it in your head. But if it's a song
that you don't want to have stuck in your head, this often happens to me with children's songs.
You might say, "Uh, that song has been stuck in my head all day. I need to do something to get
it out." You can also say, "I like this song. It's got a great beat." Maybe it makes you feel
like you want to dance. It's got some good rhythm. That's what the word beat means. It's got a great
beat. I love this song. Maybe if it's got a great beat, you might say, "It makes me want to dance.
Every time I hear this song, it doesn't matter if I'm in the doctor's office, the grocery store,
if I'm listening to music, as I'm walking around my neighborhood, it just makes me want to dance."
Our final expression for music that you love, you could say, "I have it on repeat." Oh, I've
been listening to that song all day. I've had it on repeat all day. Just a little note about
this pronunciation. Usually when we say the word repeat, it's the final part of the word that's
emphasized. Can you repeat that please? Repeat that. But when we use it in this context, I have
it on repeat. Both of those words are going to get equal emphasis, and the vowels are the same.
Repeat. "I've had that song on repeat all day. I love it." Before we go to our sample conversation
and your chance to speak with me, I have a little bonus section. What if you play an instrument
or what if you want to play an instrument? What are some phrases that you could use
to talk about that? I'd like to give you three phrases that are fun, and you can include in your
daily conversation. Let's take a look at this one. "I play the piano, so I've always looked
up to Ray Charles," for example. If you play an instrument and you have an idol or someone
who you really think is awesome, you can use this phrase. "I play the piano, so I really
look up to Ray Charles." I play the guitar, so I really look up to Jimmy Hendricks," for example.
If you have a dream to play an instrument, or you want to play yours better, you might say,
"I really want to play the flute like Vanessa." I play the flute. Not perfectly.
This is just a sample sentence, but you could say, "I really want to play the flute
like Vanessa." Notice in both of these sentences that I'm saying play the, plus the instrument.
"I play the piano. I play the flute. I play the guitar." Let's take a look at the last sentence.
"I love jazz music, so I would love to play the trumpet like Louis Armstrong," for example.
This is another way to incorporate an idol or someone that you really think is a great musician
into your desire, your motivation for learning an instrument. "I love jazz music,
so I would love to play the trumpet like Louis Armstrong." Great. What a good motivation.
Okay. It's time to see all of these phrases put together in a conversation. You're going to take
a look at a quick conversation between my husband, Dan and I, where we talk about music. Listen for
the key phrases that you learned today, because after this sample conversation,
it's going to be your turn to speak out loud, and practice talking about music in English. Let's
watch the conversation with Dan and I. Hey, Dan, whatcha listening to?
Dan: Oh, Hey Vanessa.
It's Kero Kero Bonito. They're a great new band, I saw live this weekend, and I can't get their songs
out of my head. Here, listen. Vanessa:
Oh, it's great. It's so catchy. Dan:
I know Vanessa:
It's got a good beat too. Have you heard the new Fleet Foxes's song? It's been stuck in my head
all day today. Dan:
I have. It's been on repeat all weekend. Have you added any of their songs to a playlist?
Vanessa: Yeah, I can send you a link, if you want.
Dan: That'd be great. Thanks.
Vanessa: No problem. I'm always happy to share music
recommendations. Well, see you around. Dan:
Later. Vanessa:
Okay. Now it's your turn. I'm going to be asking you a question. Imagine we're having
a conversation together, just a chitchat. I'll ask you a question at the beginning
of the conversation, and then I will pause, and it will be your turn to speak out loud.
If you need more time, the good news is this is a video. You can pause the video.
You can always go back and repeat this section, repeat this section, as much as you want, because
it's a good way to grow your confidence. Okay. Are you ready to get started? Let's do it. Hey,
I'm making a playlist. Do you have any music recommendations or a favorite song I should add?
Oh, that's interesting. What type of music do you like?
Oh, very cool. Why do you like that type of music?
That's awesome. Well, thanks for the new music recommendations. I can't wait
to listen to it, and I'll see you later. Bye. So, how did you do with this sample conversation?
Remember, you can go back and repeat this as many times as you would like to grow your confidence.
Use different phrases, find what would be the best fit for you. Don't forget to download the
free PDF worksheet for today's English lesson, with all of the common questions, the phrases,
the expressions, the sample conversations, so that you can feel comfortable and confident,
talking about music in English. There's a link in the description. You can click on
that link and download it right now. Now I have a question for you. What kind of music do you like?
Let me know in the comments, and if you have any recommendations, I would
love a recommendation for some fun music that you like. Thanks so much for learning English with me,
and I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye.
The next step is to download the free PDF worksheet for this lesson.
With this free PDF, you will master today's lesson,
and never forget what you have learned. You can be a confident English speaker. Don't
forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for a free English lesson every Friday. Bye.